Woman points gun at police in North Salt Lake; standoff ensues

NORTH SALT LAKE -- Nobody was hurt in a 90-minute standoff at 850 N. U.S. 89 after a suicidal woman initially pointed a gun at police and later fired a shot.

Police were conducting a welfare check on the 38-year-old woman, who lives at the Pebble Creek Apartments, just before 6 p.m. Tuesday. Her daughter had called in and said she might be depressed about some family issues, North Salt Lake Police Chief Craig Black told the Standard-Examiner.

The woman pointed a gun at the officers as they approached her door, Black said, before barricading herself in her apartment as reinforcements arrived. About 30 officers from Bountiful, Centerville, West Bountiful, Woods Cross and the Davis County Sheriff's Office, some of whom comprise the Davis County SWAT Team, arrived on scene shortly afterward.

The woman fired a shot at one point, but it wasn't clear whether she intended to hurt anyone, Black said. Her reasoning behind the shot is being investigated.

A negotiation specialist from the Bountiful Police Department was able to establish phone contact with the woman around 7 p.m. After 30 minutes of talking, the woman gave herself up.

"Officers did a great job here. It could have ended tragically on a lot of fronts," Black said. "This is a busy area, with high density, and certainly the safety of the public is our paramount concern."

The woman was transported to Lakeview Hospital in Bountiful.

North Salt Lake police will confer with the Davis County Attorney's Office about what, if any, charges to bring against the woman.

"Her mental state is in play" as a determining factor, Black said.

Contact reporter Ben Lockhart at 801-625-4221 or blockhart@standard.net. Follow him on Twitter at @SE_Lockhart. Like him on Facebook at www.facebook.com/blockhartSE.